1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for selecting between Remote Node, Remote Control, or other communication access method for computers which are connected to a local area network
2. Description of Prior Art
Local area networks (LANs) and other computer networks are often accessed by persons from a remote site. These users may need to perform a variety of tasks such as transferring program or data files, editing files stored on the LAN, operating programs stored on the LAN, and sending and receiving messages. However, the speed with which tasks may be performed remotely is limited by the connection between the remote site and the LAN. LANs generally use specially designed communication links which allow high speed communication between the nodes of the LAN. An Ethernet LAN, for example, can currently transfer data at 100,000,000 bits per second.
Remote users do not have access to the specially designed communication links of the LAN and must generally rely upon analog telephone lines or, in some cases, digital communication lines such as ISDN lines. The fastest data transfer rate currently available on most telephone lines and ISDN lines is 33,600 and 128,000 bits per second, respectively. Consequently, the speed of communication between the remote user and the LAN is substantially slower than the speed of communication within the LAN itself
This slower communication rate can create a significant problem for some remote users. If the user wishes to transfer a large file or program between a LAN and the remote user's computer, the time required to transfer the file may be prohibitively long. Other users may seldom need to transfer large files and are, therefore, not greatly effected by a slow communication rate.
Although local computers directly connected to a LAN generally run as nodes on the LAN, it is sometimes desirable to use a different access method. For example, a particular computer may have obsolete communication equipment which cannot communicate at normal LAN speeds. In this situation, normal LAN access methods may be unacceptably slow.
In order to meet the needs of various users, a number of different methods of communication have been developed. The two most common methods are called Remote Control and Remote Node. Each method has advantages and disadvantages and each method is best suited for different applications.